2020: Founding the Cyber Valley Investor Network—Interview with Alex Diehl

This month, we’re looking back to 2020, when the Cyber Valley Investor Network was founded. The network was established to bring together venture capital (VC) firms to support Cyber Valley scientists in transferring their research into applications that benefit people, industry, and society.

Alex Diehl, Senior Advisor at Cyber Valley GmbH, played a pivotal role in establishing the Cyber Valley Investor Network. In the following interview, he describes his initial ambitions for the network, how it has supported Cyber Valley scientists, and where he sees the network developing in the future.

What was the motivation behind founding the Cyber Valley Investor Network, and what gap did it aim to close?

We had a surplus of brilliant AI talent in our academic institutions, but the region lacked a defined start-up ecosystem. Our researchers were world-class, yet they had almost no touchpoints with venture culture or experienced founders. In the global AI race, deep-tech teams need to understand the venture-backed “playbook” early—otherwise, they risk making structural or capital mistakes that can kill a company before it starts. We founded the Investor Network to bridge this gap by “importing” global expertise. We wanted our researchers to meet VCs and angels who could provide that mentorship early on, even while our local ecosystem was still in its infancy.

Beyond capital, what role do investors play in supporting researchers and start-ups moving toward long-term applications?

It’s about operational excellence from day one. The start-up journey is a series of unpredictable pivots, and a great VC acts like an additional co-founder who is focused entirely on the company’s trajectory. There is a whole suite of “operational hygiene” that shouldn't be reinvented: shareholder contracts, cap table management, go-to-market planning, and hiring incentives. An investor provides the proven methods for these tasks so the founders can focus on the tech. Beyond the check, they provide the “blueprint” and the network to transform a research project into a scalable, professional organization.

Why are investors engaging with scientists working on basic research so early, and what value do both sides gain?

Unlike the SaaS era, where founders could build on mature, standardized technology, AI and robotics are deeply technical and evolving in real-time. In deeptech, the science is the competitive advantage. By engaging early, investors help scientists translate a technical breakthrough into a viable business model before the first line of commercial code is even written. For investors, it’s a front-row seat to the next frontier of innovation; for scientists, it ensures their research has a clear, responsible path to real-world impact from the very beginning.

What would you say has been the biggest success story for the Cyber Valley Investor Network so far?

The real success story is that we’ve ignited a cultural movement. We started nearly eight years ago with only a handful of start-ups, and now we’re seeing a big number of teams, significant follow-on investments from global VCs and even several exits. Beyond the capital, the most important shift is the surge of interest from researchers who are now eager to participate in our incubator programs and become AI and robotics entrepreneurs. The fact that partners from Japan, Canada, France, the US, and others are now looking toward Cyber Valley and ELLIS proves we have achieved some international relevance, at least to a degree.

Looking ahead, how do you see the Investor Network evolving to support Cyber Valley’s goal of turning AI and robotics research into a sustainable future?

We have passed the point of critical momentum where the network is now evolving organically. It has become much larger and more informal, with global VCs proactively reaching out to visit hubs like Tübingen, Stuttgart, Karlsruhe, Freiburg, Heidelberg, and Heilbronn to see the innovation happening in Baden-Württemberg. As “THE AI Länd” continues to accelerate as a community, I think the focus will be on maintaining this energy to ensure our research translates into a sustainable and impactful future for everyone.

Since the Investor Network's founding in 2020, Cyber Valley has grown to include:

• 40+ investor partners and friends actively engaging across the network
• 100+ Baden-Württemberg start-ups working across AI, robotics, and deep tech
• Seven batches of the Cyber Valley AI Incubator, supporting more than 150 future founders and entrepreneurial researchers
• More than €1 billion invested into start-ups connected to Cyber Valley’s broader ecosystem in recent years
• International investor engagement spanning Europe, North America, and Asia

The Investor Network has evolved from offering an initial access point for investors to building long-term relationships between them and researchers. “What is exciting now is seeing founders from our ecosystem engage with international investors with growing confidence while still maintaining the grounded and collaborative culture that makes Baden-Württemberg unique”—Blanca Büechl (Business Development Manager: Investors, Cyber Valley GmbH).

Reach out to Blanca Büechl (blanca.bueechl@cyber-valley.de) to find out more about the Investor Network and how you can play a pivotal role in turning AI and robotics research into real-world solutions for a better future for all.

To celebrate Cyber Valley's ten-year anniversary, we'll be sharing a variety of content across our website and social media channels reflecting on milestones from the last decade. Stay tuned for the next installments!